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Special needs cheer team gets invitation to perform for presidential council

Updated 1:57 pm, Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Screen capture of the Challenger Angels special needs cheer team, performing at the President's Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, May 7, 2013.

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Screen capture of the Challenger Angels special needs cheer team,...

Panelists, media and audience members give a standing ovation to the Challenger Angels special needs cheer team following their routine at the President's Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, May 7, 2013.

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Panelists, media and audience members give a standing ovation to...

Christian Grugan, 18, center, with his helper Alex Meagher, 16, behind him, practices a cheer routine with The Angels on Thursday, May 2, 2013, at Sand Creek Middle School in Colonie, N.Y. The Capital District Challenger Cheer team will perform for the President's Council on Physical Fitness in Washington D.C. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Christian Grugan, 18, center, with his helper Alex Meagher, 16,...

Emily Maye, 14, center, flies high as she practices a cheer routine with The Angels on Thursday, May 2, 2013, at Sand Creek Middle School in Colonie, N.Y. Supporting her are helpers Jackie Rinaldi, left, Rachael Blaine, second from left, and cheer member Hailey Murphy, 12. The Capital District Challenger Cheer team will perform for the President's Council on Physical Fitness in Washington D.C. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Emily Maye, 14, center, flies high as she practices a cheer routine...

Francesca Citone, 13, center, and her helper Katie Hutton, 16, left, practice a cheer routine with The Angels on Thursday, May 2, 2013, at Sand Creek Middle School in Colonie, N.Y. The Capital District Challenger Cheer team will perform for the President's Council on Physical Fitness in Washington D.C. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Francesca Citone, 13, center, and her helper Katie Hutton, 16,...

Briana Parker, 15, center, reaches for the hand of teammate Rachael Trombley, 12, right, as they practice a cheer routine with The Angels on Thursday, May 2, 2013, at Sand Creek Middle School in Colonie, N.Y. The Capital District Challenger Cheer team will perform for the President's Council on Physical Fitness in Washington D.C. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Jessica Klein, 18, practices a cheer routine with The Angels on Thursday, May 2, 2013, at Sand Creek Middle School in Colonie, N.Y. The Capital District Challenger Cheer team will perform for the President's Council on Physical Fitness in Washington D.C. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Jessica Klein, 18, practices a cheer routine with The Angels on...

Julia Huber, 15, of Bethlehem practices a routine with The Angels on Thursday, May 2, 2013, at Sand Creek Middle School in Colonie, N.Y. The Capital District Challenger Cheer team will perform for the President's Council on Physical Fitness in Washington D.C. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

The squad is more excited, though, about the potential for a brush with the First Dog.

"They don't care about President Obama," said Martha Vadney, president of Colonie Pop Warner and a special education monitor at Sand Creek Middle School in Colonie. "They all just want to see Bo."

When Vadney got the invitation, just two and a half weeks ago, she was floored.

"I said, 'the president of what?' " she recalled.

Then, she had to figure out how to raise the funds to get the squad there — over $10,000 for hotel rooms and two buses to transport 14 cheerleaders, their volunteer helpers, parents, and adult supervisors — in under two weeks.

Donations poured in from the community and local businesses, from the school custodian who watches the team practice at Sand Creek Middle School and strangers at a donation drive at Coccadotts Bakery in Albany. By the end of last week, the team had raised enough cash for the trip.

The team was also out of practice — the cheer season ended in November — so members began a rigorous practice schedule, learning a new routine to match the council's requested cheer theme of physical fitness. Cheerleaders on the Angels squad have a range of disabilities, from autism to cerebral palsy. They range in age from 11 to 18. Some use wheelchairs.

On Sunday morning, the team and company were scheduled to depart for D.C. About 80 people in all were slated to make the trek. One cheerleader will sit in on a roundtable discussion at the council about youth fitness, to discuss the challenges young people with disabilities often face in staying physically fit.

"Kids have shining moments in their life all the time, from ballet recitals to concerts. Special needs kids don't always have those moments," Vadney said. "These kids are getting an opportunity to go and have their moment."